Clear, toffee-toned appearance, with a thick, full, frothy head.
Aroma, nuttiness is foremost, a bit of coffee, and caramel.
Taste: Brisk, neat little hops, fading quickly into lush malty bed. Flavor continues as a nutty, caramelly thing, nice and tasty, but nothing too fabulous, not unseating any king of the schwarzbier throne with this one, no, sir.
Biscuity, toasty malt, well-appreciated, but not too spectacular. High in carbonation, fizzy, creamy, tasty, just enough.
A decent roll in the hay, but not a beer I'd give a second phone call to, unless I was desperate. (578 characters)

Poured a mahogany brown topped by a slight but enduring head.
Some mild lacing coated the walls of my glass.
A slight almost insignificant nose eminated from the brew. Hints, only tiny hints of toasted malt characterized the fragrance of this brew.

Flavor was slight. Once again the whisper of toasted malt comingled with a bit of tempering hops. Much of what I expect from a pils seemed to be missing. A bit of fizz here and there to wake my taste buds.

Despite the shallow pils character, this beer is quite enjoyable as it doesn't seem to be heavily alcohol laden and it's non-descript flavor makes for a mild but refreshing beverage.

Otherwise, in my opinion, there are more "definite" pils to be enjoyed. (721 characters)

Huge head (3/4 of 16 oz glass) that becomes rocky after about two minutes. Long lasting. Excellent lace. Brown color, but clear enough for light to shine through.

Dark, almost bark-like aromas. Very close to an extremely dry stout in smell.

Surprisingly thin body and a relatively high carbonation. Black patent malt flavors makes for a bitter beer. Some light hop.

On the bottle, this beer refers to itself as the black pilsner. In that realm, this matches the profile superbly. However, for my tastes, I prefer fuller bodied beers with more complex flavors. (569 characters)

A clear, dark reddish-brown Schwarzbier with a moderate rocky tan head. It smells like roasted malt. At first I taste the malt, then the roastedness, with a bitter coffee-like finish. The body was thin to firm in my mouth. Overall, I found this an okay Schwarzbier, but not extraordinary.

It pours a black (duh) color with a light tan fluffy head. The head is sort of retentive, but there isn't much to keep it aloft since the carbonation is quite mild. The aroma is dry, mild hops, and toasted. The flavor is much the same with very faint watered down caramel notes mild hops and rye toast that keeps it short and sweet with every sip. The mouthfeel is good, not much residual sweetness or char. This provides a decent drinkability. The only thing that would eventually draw me away from this one would be boredom. (569 characters)

Pours a very very dark brown color with a nice creamy white head that left plenty of clingy lacing on the glass. The aroma is of sweet caramel and fermented red grapes. The taste is of a watery milk chocolate, similar to Nestles Quik. There is also a raisin & carob presence. The roasted malt is very light and does not add much flavor to the brew. The feel is light with soft carbonation; finishes sweet and slightly sticky. A very average swarzbier. I was hoping for more of a roasted malt presence. I always question the freshness of these German brews that I get, perhaps this was on the older side. I still prefer the Sam Adams or Sprecher Schwarzbiers. (658 characters)

As a European living in NY how did I have to wait until I was in Mexico city to find this?

I am not saying it is the best beer in the world but it is really good so shame on NY and particularly the German pubs for holding out on us.

Anyway on to the beer. Pours a very nice coffee color with a good head that goes on to the end. The smell is all coffee which is a recurring theme but with lots of malt behind it. The taste is coffee again but its very level, certainly not overpowering. Its much lighter then it looks but it does linger on the tongue. All in all, you could spend a day in spring or autumn drinking these with no regrets. (639 characters)

I just happened upon a bottle of this at a bar. I liked this beer a lot and would recommend it to anyone who tries it but I would not call it a Schwartzbier. It's a little too malty, aromatically and flavor wise, to be that style but it is none the less a very interesting beer with a great smokey and malty aroma and flavor. (325 characters)

Eye: Dark brown in color with some of the most beautiful undertones I've ever seen-pinkish dark red brown. Since I'm drinking this out of a 5 liter keg that I tapped last night, I didn't expect to have great head retention or formation today. Last night however, it had great formation and retention

Nose: Full of aromas. Malty sweet, burnt, roasted, and huge smokiness create the aroma profile of this brew. No hop aroma as can be expected.

Tongue: Nice roasty and smoked flavor. Also a lot of sweet malt flavors, bitterness seems to come more from the burnt/roasted grains.

Mouthfeel and Drinkability: This is a beer I'd drink again, though I think it would've been much better had I drained this keg in one day as opposed to letting it sit over night. It's lost quite a bit of its carbonation. I'd really like to try it from the bottle. Feels clean in the mouth with a medium-light body. This is an easy drinking beer that makes for a good session beer. (990 characters)

Drinkability- Highly drinkable, very light and easily a sessionable choice, I personally wasnt that blown away with this beer and definitely not one I would go for again but i can definitely appreciate how drinkable this one would be for many (678 characters)

One finger light tan head, medium dissipation with good lacing. Clear dark amber body, no visible carbonation, a very light hue for the style IMHO. Nose features some raisins, sweet malt with some roast for balance, floral hop notes, a very interesting nose. Taste is sweetish, not as much roast presence as the nose would suggest. Mouthfeel is a bit sweet and sticky. Drinkability is OK, but a bit too sweet for the style and certainly not dark enough to be attractive. I was a bit disappointed in this, but after having Moonlight's excellent Death and Taxes, it's hard to measure up in this interesting category. (645 characters)

The beer pours a winsome deep blood red color and the head is spumescent in texture, the color a light tan and the size portly, resultant lace is a fine sheet. The nose is dominated by the malts, sweet and fresh as with the start, top is skinny in feel, the finish has a pleasant hop spicy bite with the carbonation minimal and the aftertaste bitter and long lasting, a nice representative to the style. (403 characters)

This brew pours a dark ruby color with a nice creamy tan head that leaves a fine bubble lace behind. Malt hits the nose pretty nice, with little very little hop smell. The first sample brings a earthy taste with a malt taste mixed in. Caramel malt is present but not to strong. This is not a bad beer but hopefully it may grow on me.

Pours a dark brown with a medium head that has nice retention and leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma is very weak, hints of caramel. The flavor has some dark maltiness, but seems to have some tannins as well, making it slightly harsh. Little sweetness. The body is much more thin than I expected. The drinkability is good. (330 characters)

Pours a pale brown that is nonetheless translucent, with a very assertive head that builds quickly upon pouring. Nose was light and difficult to ascertain much other than some roasty malt aromas. Light bodied, and light caramel to roasty malt sweetness is noted. Finish is light and a little watery. (299 characters)

This schwarzbier poured a clear, deep garnet color with creamy, light brown, sudsy foam that settled slowly but clung to the glass a bit. The smell was malty with a touch of caramel and chocolate, but overall a rather modest aroma. The taste was malty: caramel, cocoa, with a hint of sweetness up front. There was a good balance of tangy hops in the background behind the malt, and a bit of hop bitterness came through in the finish. The mouthfeel was smooth and malty with medium body and modest carbonation. The malty flavors lingered briefly. This was an easy to quaff schwarzbier. Not bad at all. (659 characters)

Dark, shiny, opaque black with deep tan head and fizzy retention. Great, yeasty, chocolate smell with a decent amount of spicy flavors and coffee. Strong and grainy for a supposed black pils. Smooth and a little too sweet, but decent carbonation and good body.

Sweet, tart, and a tad bitter, but for the most part pretty drinkable and well-structured. (413 characters)

Taste is lighter then the smell some toasted nuts, caramel, fruit and chocolate hints light herbal hop finish. Overall not bad but not as roasted tasting or as dark tasting as some of the better schwarzbiers.

This beer is very dark brown and ruby with a fluffy off-white head. This is a super smooth and mellow brew. Drinkability is way up there. Taste is mostly a mild roasted malt with a slight hint of coffee. The mouthfeel is in between thin and medium, slightly watery, making it easy to drink and refreshing. I wasn't excited while drinking this, but I was happy to have tried this smooth and refreshing "black pils." (414 characters)

This whole experience was slightly better than average. It poured a dark red colour, crystal clear, with a huge, foamy cap that left thick, sticky lacing. Much light (colour) than I was expecting. Smell seemed fairly balanced with nice, sweet malts, as well as an earthy hoppy smell. Taste was heavier on the malt side than the hop side, and had, what seemed to me, a bit of a wood-like taste. Interesting. Mouthfeel was nothing special. Smooth, drinkable. Just a mark or two above average. Not bad. (499 characters)

flavor was very balanced. definitely roasted malts with a slight charred sugars. has a dry astringency in a good way making it quite quenching. dry hop finish that fades just in time for the next quaff. does have hint or sourness in finish.

good mouthfeel, that is slick over the tongue and drinkability is very good.